


Native Heroes

by franscats



Category: The Sentinel
Genre: Gen, Sentinel Bingo
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-28
Updated: 2018-03-28
Packaged: 2019-04-14 01:51:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,223
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14125518
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/franscats/pseuds/franscats
Summary: Blair talks to his class about an experience he had in the Amazon.





	Native Heroes

**Author's Note:**

> This was written for the sentinel bingo prompt - accidental hero.

“Mr. Sandburg,” one of the students raised her hand.

“Yes, Ms. Howard?” Blair looked at the young blonde who always seemed to find a spot right in front of where he was lecturing.

“You did say you would talk about your visit with a shaman in the Amazon.”

“Right,” Blair smiled and turned off the projector before leaning against the lectern and looking at the expectant faces. “We talked about four sub groups of anthropology: archaeology anthropology, linguistic anthropology, physical anthropology and social or cultural anthropology. Social anthropologists study social and cultural behavior. To do that, anthropologists go out in the field and actually visit tribes, watch them, if possible live with the tribe and work with the tribe.

“As you can tell from the slides, I was studying the impact of modernization among traditional Amazon River tribes. At the time I was living with Naxiwaki and his family. On a regular basis they would ride down the river and trade some of their wares with another village. I wanted to go with them when they went to visit a neighboring tribe but they were reluctant to bring me, unsure if the tribe would welcome them if I was with them. Anyway…

_It was humid and mosquitos and were buzzing all around. Blair was glad he had put on spray to keep the bugs off him as the canoe moved down the river. Somewhere below them, swimming in schools were piranhas, and off on the banks caiman moved among the bushes watching for a chance to pounce on unaware prey. Naxi and his brother, Inixi, were paddling their oars, careful to move far enough away from the caiman as they made their way to a nearby village. As they went along the brothers would point out, in Spanish, what they considered points of interest. Usually, it had to do with certain animals that they enjoyed hunting but once in a while they would identify unusual flora and mention that these plants were used in ceremonies or had healing properties._

_Blair would snap pictures of the plants the brothers identified and try and get information on the ceremonies the tribe practiced. Though technically he was studying the impact of modern man on Amazon tribal life, he found he was far more interested in shaman practices. Most of the tribes he had visited said they did not have a shaman or their shaman was not in the village at the time but Blair had the feeling they were holding back some information, eyeing him suspiciously._

_And, of course, he was always looking for sentinels – not that any tribe said they had one._

_Pretty soon Naxi and Inixi maneuvered into a small cleared area, pulling their canoe up onto the shore. Scattered near the shoreline, Blair could see tribal huts and cooking fires and he eagerly jumped out of the canoe and followed the brothers as they made their way to the tribe’s elders._

_As the trading began, left to his own devices, Blair turned his attention to the tribe. Many were watching the interchange between the traders, some were looking over the goods being traded, and some were watching Blair with a mix of interest and suspicion._

_Blair smiled at these people trying to look his most harmless and let his eyes roam around the camp, taking in the evidence that western culture had started to influence the tribe. Blair could see knives and crockery that had not been handmade, and some manufactured tools and textiles. Closer to large cities than Naxi’s tribe, these people did some trading with westerners. He quickly snapped off a few pictures of the materials and was thinking over how he would notate the info when a little girl tapped on his arm and pointed him in the direction of an older man sitting before a smoking fire._

_He glanced over at Naxi and Inixi, both still speaking with the elders, and then walked over to the older man who indicated he should sit beside him. Blair dropped down and smiled, bowing his head in respect and the older man nodded his approval before handing Blair a small drink in an earthenware cup. Blair glanced into the cup, not sure what it was, but the old man nodded again. “Bebe,” he demanded and Blair guessed the old man wanted him to drink the concoction._

_“Thank you,” Blair replied in Spanish and took a tiny sip of the liquid. Blair couldn’t really describe what the drink tasted like, he wanted to call it “green” like some kind of herbs and maybe a bit “fruity” but he knew it wasn’t an accurate description of the taste. Whatever it was, it wasn’t unpleasant. He turned to give the drink back to the older man but the old one shook his head. “Bebe,” he repeated, indicating that Blair should finish the liquid._

_Shrugging, hoping it wasn’t some kind of weird drug, Blair downed the liquid before handing back the cup and the man nodded before calling over Inixi and speaking with him._

_“You are drinking with the shaman of the tribe,” Inixi informed Blair._

_“The shaman?” Blair questioned, turning and looking at the older man while trying to think about questions he wanted to ask but finding things a bit fuzzy._

_“Yes, he says he is sending you on a spirit walk. The spirits have told him to do this. We will wait while you take the walk and return to our home tomorrow.”_

_“What does he mean…a spirit walk?” Blair asked trying unsuccessfully to stand as his head began to spin._

_“The shaman is preparing you so you will be ready to speak with the spirits when the way is passed to you,” Inixi replied. “It is a great honor for you and a time of celebration for the tribe. The spirits bless the tribe when a shaman prepares a new shaman. My brother and I shall be honored as heroes for bringing you here.” Inixi laughed lightly as Blair found sitting up difficult. “And to think we didn’t want to bring you. We are blessed by the spirits for bringing you here. But you should have told us you are destined to be a guide to a guardian.”_

_“Heroes? Guide to a guardian?” Blair questioned faintly as the shaman placed a hand on Blair’s forehead._

_If Inixi replied, Blair never heard it as his world turned gray…_

“Anyway,” Blair looked out at his class. “While Inixi and Naxi traded, I drank with the shaman. Then I passed out and the next morning Inixi and Naxi dragged my butt into their canoe and headed back to their village.”

“But what happened when you had the drink?” Ms. Howard questioned.

“It was all very jumbled,” Blair admitted trying to think back to his trip down the Amazon. He hadn’t thought about the trip in years. “I saw a jag-” Blair paused. He had seen a jaguar – a black jaguar. Jim’s spirit animal was a black jaguar. And he had seen a wolf too.

“I saw animals and the shaman insisted they were spirits and I would meet them again.”

“Did you?” Ms. Howard asked.

“You don’t really run into wolves or jaguars in Cascade,” Blair obfuscated and then smiled as the bell rang. “Anyway, for the next class read chapter three on rituals.”


End file.
